Lionel Messi Gives News That Makes Him Worried About The Argentine National Team's Supporters

JAKARTA The Argentine national team star, Lionel Messi, admits that it is unlikely that he will play in the 2026 World Cup which will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The former Barcelona player will be 39 years old when the tournament takes place.

Messi's spirit is believed to be no longer the same as in the 2022 World Cup. The reason is, he lifted the world champion trophy in Qatar last December.

"Because age will be difficult to reach [World Cup] 2026," Messi told Argentine media outlet Diario O! which was later confiscated by NBC Washington.

Before bringing Argentina to Qatar at the end of last year, Messi made a statement hinting that the 2022 World Cup was his last appearance in the competition.

His success in getting the most prestigious trophy made the fans' desire to see him again in the most prestigious event almost impossible to materialize.

However, Messi has not yet completely closed the possibility that he will play in 2026 as well as be his last World Cup.

"I like playing football and while I feel like I'm in good shape and enjoying this. I will continue to do it. It looks like it's still a long time until the next World Cup, but it depends on how my career goes," he said.

In early January after winning in the Middle East, Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni also expressed optimism about Messi's chances of playing in the next World Cup.

Scaloni insists that he will not close the door for Messi in the Argentine squad who qualify for the World Cup later. He made sure he would bring Messi if the player wanted to join.

"I think Messi can qualify for the next World Cup. It will depend heavily on what he wants and what happens over time. The door will always be open. He is happy on the pitch, and for us [it's] good," he said.

If he plays in 2026 then Messi has a great chance of bringing himself to the top scorer in the history of the competition. He scored seven goals in Qatar to raise the total goals to 13 or adrift of German legend Miroslav Klose.

The next big tournament that Argentina will face is the upcoming 2024 Copa America. The event could give Messi an overview of the atmosphere two years later.